The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

Bahamas men’s national 1,500 metre record holder William ‘Knucklehead’ Johnson is delighted that there will be a continuation of the cross country invitational in his honour.

But he’s a little disappointed that his 44-year-old national record of three minutes and 45.72 seconds that he established on May 17, 1983 in Austin, Texas in his senior year at Texas Christian University is still on the books.

Johnson’s long-time friend and rival Rupert Gardiner is organising the cross country invitational that will be staged on Saturday, October 21, starting at 7:30am at the Queen Elizabeth Sports Center.

“It’s a good event for the high schools and clubs during the cross country season,” Gardiner said. “I know the University of the Bahamas is having one on September 21, so to come back with the William Johnson Invitational is great.

“We need to focus a little more on our distance running programme so that we can get more distance runners competing at the international level.”

This is the sixth year that the event has been staged and Gardiner said they are looking forward to having some participation from Grand Bahama and the Family Islands.

Johnson, now a fixture as an administrator at St Augustine’s College where he’s also a member of the coaching staff of the Big Red Machine track team, said he’s looking forward to the invitational. “I’m just immensely humbled that the guys would continue to do it, but more importantly than anything else, this cross country season is important for the distance running programme,” Johnson said.

“This is a good opportunity for the distance runners to get into condition. There was no cross country season in my day, so these kids are fortunate and they should embrace the opportunity to get out there on the weekend and use these events to get in shape. That is what takes you to the next level.”

Johnson, a former member of the Bahamas Pioneers Track Club, was one of the premier distance runners during his era at AF Adderley that ended with his graduation in 1978.

A year later in 1979 in Kingston, Jamaica, Johnson captured the gold medal in the under-20 boys 1,500m when he ran 3:57.24 for both the CARIFTA Games and his first Bahamas national record, the latter feat he improved on in Texas.

In thanking Gardiner and the Silver Lightning Track Club for putting on the invitational, Johnson said there’s been some improvement in the performances of the distance runners, but he would like to see a lot more.

“The distance running programme is still lagging behind the sprints and the jumps,” Johnson said. “We have had some bright spots, but we’re still lagging behind in the distance programme.

“We would like to see more participation from the distance runners at the CAC (Central American and Caribbean) and Pan Am Games. Yes, they are at CARIFTA, but we need to see them step it up at the bigger meets on the world stage.”

As for the 1,500m record, Johnson said while he’s surprised that it’s still on the books, he can’t believe that no Bahamian has won a 1,500m gold medal in the under-20 boys division since he did it in 1979.

“We’ve had under-17 boys who won the 1,500m and we’ve had under-20 boys who won the 5,000, but none of them have won the 1,500 in the under-20 boys division,” Johnson said.

“The record is still there, but it should be gone. Hopefully we would eventually see that record eclipse. It’s been around for a long time. It should be gone. There’s no way that it should still exist after 40 years.”